Behind them, the Vanguard began their assault. Pulses of blinding light shot through the trees, each beam a precise strike of raw energy that uprooted trees and evaporated rocks in explosive bursts. The forest path became a deadly gauntlet, the light attacks carving out craters and setting the underbrush ablaze with ethereal flames.
Jiho, at the rear with Siren, turned momentarily, lobbing dark, blood-tainted shurikens that spun through the air and disrupted the Vanguard's attacks. Though the light dissolved most, a few managed to strike, creating brief flashes were Vanguard riders recoiled, disrupted by the unexpected counter.
"They're offering resistance." They said.
"Of course they are, they're afraid of us."
Down below, Siren said to Jiho, "Yo."
Jiho responded, "You're risking your role within the Vanguard here being with us."
"They never saw me in my real appearance. You guys have never seen it either, besides my father but that was when I was a teenager."
"…I didn't expect them to be here so fast."
"Over the past year they've been doing more patrols, of course my dad didn't tell you guys, did he?"
"What's up with him?"
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"The Head has been acting strange, either he's barely coming outside to where the other assassins are, or he's coming out and leaving for hours."
"I don't care honestly, I just know mom was right about him all along."
"What are you—."
"Watch your head."
BOOM!
A shard of light struck the ground near them, and they dodged it with ease.
High above on a distant mountain, a lone figure watched the chaos below with detached amusement. This was the sniper of the Luminous Vanguard, known only as Argent. His hair, white and spiky, glowed with an inner light, and golden Len rune tears were etched down his cheeks, giving him an angelic yet eerie demeanor. Dressed in a glowing white sackcloth that fluttered in the wind, he seemed almost ethereal. In his hands, he held a sniper rifle made of pure light, the 'Radiance Reaper,' renowned for bullets that exploded on impact with devastating energy.
Behind him, was the leader of his squadron, Helbend. He stood at 8 feet and muscular, wearing gold and white armor, and long bushy black hair with a bright white feather in his hair, and he was riding on a bright white lion with glowing gold eyes.
"These fools cleared the cult sanctuary with ease…." He said.
Argent responded, "They're awesome!"
"Praising the enemy, are you?"
"Uhhh no..? Does it even matter, we're gonna kill them anyway."
"It does matter! We do not compliment beings of darkness!"
"Beings of blood. Not the darkness users."
"Either way, the blood users and the darkness users are a part of the dark trio which needs to be eradicated. If the wife of Kyung-Hu is to be restored to her full form again, we can do it without those two affinities, she should be restored in pure light. Adding darkness and blood to her being would corrupt her after all the malice they've dished out into this world and the universe."
"Oh yeah!"
Argent took aim, the scope of his Radiance Reaper glowing softly. With clinical precision, he fired at the fleeing figures, each shot whistling through the air and exploding upon contact, obliterating large portions of the forest in blinding flashes of destruction.
Elara felt the ground shake as a light bullet detonated nearby, throwing her off balance. Rolling to regain her footing, she glanced back to see parts of the forest disappearing into the light, consumed by the sniper's deadly accuracy.
Caelan yelled, "What kind of weapon is that?!"
"We need cover!" Zephyr yelled, pulling a wounded survivor behind a still-intact rock formation. They were sitting ducks in the open, their usual advantage of stealth nullified by the Vanguard's overwhelming power and Argent's chilling precision.
Caelan, quick-thinking, drew a handful of smoke bombs from his belt and threw them to the ground, creating a thick, dark cloud that temporarily obscured their movements. "Move unpredictably, spread out!" he instructed, his voice barely audible over the roar of destruction.
He then stomped the ground, allowing flames to merge with the smoke. Zephyr darted above Caelan, twisted, and extended his leg within the twist, slashing sharp winds all over the place to cut multiple trees down, the winds spiraling the trees to cover them from the bullets, but they barely worked.
Caelan said, "We'll keep dishing that out as we run! Block off these bastard's vision!"
Zephyr replied, "I'm with you."
Caelan turned to Elara, "Elara! I need you—!"
Elara ignored him, doing her own thing.
Caelan said to her, "Get your head out of the gutter, dammit! Focus!"
Elara responded, "Stop yelling."
"You need to let go of this Joon shit, and—."
Elara said, "Don't say his name to me. Ever."
Caelan turned to Jiho, "She's not listening! Kill her!"
Jiho said, "Elara, they need you on this! This ain't a time to be fucking around! You could die to this group. The Head informed you and over a hundred more of you assassins of this group inside and out. You know how they operate."
Elara didn't say anything.
'Joon would want me to do it, right?'
Kai just ran, yelling, "We didn't do anything to them!"
Zephyr said to Kai, "We are natural enemies with them."
"Us?! I'm not! I think? Yeah. I'm related to some of them, maybe I can try and talk them out of this—."
"That won't work. This has been an ongoing feud as the Head mentioned. They won't listen to us without blood being shed. And weren't you abandoned by them?"
"I…"
Elara thought, 'How long will these fools chase us for?'
Jiho explained, "Spread out. You're a bigger target clumped up together like this."
The assassins dispersed, each taking different paths, zigzagging through the woods to confuse their pursuers. Kai stumbled but was quickly helped up by Zephyr, who had stayed close, his eyes scanning for more incoming light attacks.
Elara, her body screaming in protest, pushed herself to the limits. She jumped from tree to tree, her movements a mixture of desperation and determination. The slight glow from her ice runes provided small comfort, reminding her of the power she still held.
Elara turned around fast, as Zephyr yelled, "Look out!"
Elara immediately leaped and flipped in the air as a bullet of light smashed through a few trees, ripping them apart as the ground cracked explosively.
'It's like these projectiles are changing their own velocity…or someone is changing it…'
Argent, observing the effect of the smoke, adjusted his scope, a cold smile playing on his lips. He fired into the smoke, calculating the probable paths of his prey. Trees exploded in sprays of splinters, but the assassins were already gone, their figures disappearing deeper into the darkened woods.
"Hehe! For the light of Aurion!" He blasted from his voice.
"The cliff!" Jiho's voice carried over the "Get Down the river!" His plan was risky, the cliff was steep, and the drop was dangerous, but it offered a possible escape from the unrelenting pursuit.
Everyone had regrouped, and Siren said to everyone, "Um excuse me guys, but I'm gonna go take care of that guy blasting at us."
Jiho scoffed, "You waited until now?! You set us up?!"
"Look dude, I know you don't trust me because I was in the Vanguard undercover, but I got this. And plus, you all needed to see this."
"See what?"
Running towards the cliff, Elara felt a surge of adrenaline. She could see the river below, its waters a dark ribbon through the landscape. This was their chance.
With the Vanguard closing in and Argent's sniper fire raining down around them, the assassins reached the cliff's edge. One by one, they began their perilous descent, sliding, jumping, and using vines to control their fall.
As they jumped, they saw the entire forest and woodlands were covered in large black vines with black runes on them, and whatever they touched, what they touched rotted and came back as dark revenant humanoids with a bloodlust.
Elara said, "What the.."
Caelan added, "Shit! What are those? Vines?!"
Zephyr said, "So much demonic qi.."
Kai yelped, "They won't follow us there, right?!"
Siren, at the rear, looked back to see Argent repositioning, aiming directly at them.
Jiho said, "Your ass better come back and explain everything."
"Don't worry old man, I will. You sound like my dad."
Siren turned, facing the sniper's wrath alone, his blade ready to meet whatever light was thrown his way, buying precious seconds for his comrades' escape.
Down the cliff, Elara reached the river, her body battered but unbroken. She looked up, holding her arm, as the sounds of the Vanguard's fury and the relentless sniper continued to echo through the torn forest.
High above the treeline, on the craggy face of the mountain, Argent perched like a sentinel of divine wrath. Each shot from his Radiance Reaper carved arcs of destruction through the forest canopy, guided by his fanatical devotion to the light deity, Aurion. With each explosive round released, he shouted a scripture, his voice echoing across the valley, blending reverence with madness.
"By Aurion's grace, the impure shall be cleansed!" he proclaimed, firing a shot that obliterated a centuries-old pine, its splinters catching the light like falling stars.
"The light purifies, and the shadows flee!" Another round launched, turning a hiding spot into a fiery pit of divine retribution.
Below, Siren used his mastery over his blood to craft an armor of grotesque beauty: a blood mask and a blood cloak woven from his own essence, hardened into a deep crimson. His feet bare against the rough stone, he climbed the mountain with a predator's grace, his spiked blood gloves ready to inflict his own brutal scripture.
As he neared the sniper, Siren prepared himself, his presence masked by the shadows of the rocks and the whispering wind. Argent, oblivious to the approaching danger, continued his relentless barrage.
"Embrace the luminance or be scattered like dust!" Argent cried out, his fervor reaching a crescendo as he released another devastating shot, the light tearing through the air with celestial fury.
'Dear Argent. Such a stubborn brat. I always hated him during my time with the Vanguard. A 10th gate qi cultivator with an unknown weapon created from I don't know, but it has qi-runes on it.' Siren thought.
Silently, Siren leaped from his cover, the distance closing between him and the mad sniper in a breath's span. He landed heavily behind Argent, the sound masked by the sniper's own declarations.
Startled, Argent spun around, his Radiance Reaper momentarily forgotten as he stared at the blood-cloaked figure before him. A twisted smile broke across his face, a mix of surprise and delight at the challenge.
"Who dares to shadow the path of light?" Argent's voice was tinged with insanity, his eyes wide with a zealot's fervor.
Siren stood silent, his blood mask devoid of expression, yet his stance aggressive and poised for attack. He raised his blood spiked gloves, ready to bring the fight to this crazed servant of light.
"Ready when you are."
Argent laughed, a sound that mingled maniacal joy with unshaken belief. "A disciple of darkness comes to dance at the altar of Aurion! How splendid!" He raised his weapon, the barrel glowing ominously. "But know this, blood-walker, the light shall sear your sins to ashes."
As Siren moved forward, his every step deliberate and menacing, Argent recited another scripture of Aurion, his voice now a piercing declaration. "'Light is the ultimate judge, and at its behest, the unworthy shall falter!'" With that, he shot a volley of light bullets, each one a miniature sun, scorching the air between them.
Siren dodged swiftly, his movements a blur against the mountainside. With each dodge, he closed the distance, his blood gloves dripping with the anticipation of violence.
'I know you too well, Argent. I was tasked to keep an eye on all members, and study them, and study all the books within the library of the Vanguard. Mother would be proud of me. I'm her favorite anyway.'
The area held a moment's breath, the two figures, one a radiant avatar of divine madness, the other a dark specter of chaotic blood, set against the backdrop of a torn earth and a sky split with light.
They stood mere meters apart, the ground around them scarred by powers both dark and divine. Argent, with a wild gleam in his eyes, continued shouting his scriptures, each phrase punctuated by his unhinged laughter. Siren, silent and deadly, prepared to strike, his entire being focused on the imminent clash.
The wind howled through the shattered forest, carrying with it the echoes of battle, as both warriors readied themselves for a fight where light and shadow would collide with catastrophic fury. The scene froze in that tension, a promise of blood and illumination, a battle poised on the edge of day and night.
The mountain became an arena, the sky darkened by the clash of light and blood. Siren and Argent eyed each other, poised for a battle that would merge the elements of destruction and divine fury.